CONSERVANCY PLANS PARK VILLAGE FOR ECO-TOURISTS.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, long thought to be a foe of developers, now appears ready to pursue a deal with one wanting to build a 120-cabin, eco-tourist village in the Simi Hills west of Chatsworth.

Struggling to find money to operate its 625-acre Sage Ranch Park, the conservancy has reached a preliminary agreement with Encino-based California Eco Camps Inc. that could pave the way for a $3.5 million, environmentally friendly resort.

But some local conservationists are concerned that the parkland may not be the best place for a so-called eco-camp designed for guests seeking to spend a few days in nature without having to sacrifice modern conveniences.

For starters, they said the park lies on the easterly edge of Ventura County near Rockwell Corp.'s Santa Susana Field Laboratory for testing rocket engines and other technologies.

Chris Van Schaack, a member of the Chatsworth Conservation Coalition, also said the site is covered with heavy chaparral and sage plants - native brush he contends developers would have to clear to reduce the fire hazard.

``It is just not a good place,'' said Van Schaack, adding that he supports the concept of eco-tourism in general. ``If our park system cannot afford to run parks, we need to rethink our own values about what we can do to save them. We don't need to turn our parks into concession booths.''

Under terms being discussed, the developer would pay an arm of the conservancy called the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority anywhere between $55,000 to $300,000 a year to lease the land, depending on gross receipts.

Conservancy official Rorie Skei said the deal would also ask the developer to operate the existing Sage Ranch campground on an expanded basis and would serve to enhance use of the rugged park by encouraging visitors to explore the wildlife.

``I don't think it is in any way a departure from our mission,'' said Skei, a conservancy division chief responsible for the proposed project area. ``If it works, it is something to enhance recreation access and the park experience.''

The conservancy bought Sage Ranch for $4.2 million from a mortgage company in 1990. The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority in 1994 opened a campground in the scenic park, which it began operating on an approximately $100,000-a-year budget.

But according to Skei, the authority's budget for its Ventura County properties has been shrinking, and this year the authority has only $23,000 annually to run the campground, which is now open only to organized groups.

The deal, Skei said, would not only allow the conservancy to keep the campground open, but it could also help pay for the purchase of open space and for other conservancy activities.

The conservancy's board on Nov. 18 approved a license that would allow the developer to operate the resort if the project were actually given the go-ahead.

California Eco Camps Inc., a subsidiary of New-York based Maho Bay Camps Inc., which operates four eco-tourism resorts in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has also proposed a lap pool, tennis court and dining commons for the Sage Ranch eco-camp.

``Nothing takes place until there is actually a plan that is developed and there is public input,'' said Skei, adding that any design would have to obtain environmental and other approvals.

Skei said the developer would make sure that the environment was not harmed by any construction, adding that the proposed 16-foot-by-16-foot bungalows would rest on the ground instead of being built into it.

``Whatever they do has to be absolutely compatible with the resources up there,'' Skei said.

Michael Freeman, vice president of California Eco Camps Inc., said the eco-tourist village would offer visitors to the Los Angeles area a chance to check out the region's natural resources while staying in a rustic setting.

``We feel that there is a growing percentage of the traveling public that wants to have this kind of alternative,'' said Freeman. ``We don't have maid service. We don't have bellmen. Our intention is to have classes in environment and interpretive type classes.''

Guests, he said, would stay in cabins made out of recycled products and lighted by solar or wind power. They would dine on mainly vegetarian, low-fat food, and water would be recycled for nonconsumptive purposes.

A typical day at the Sage Ranch eco-camp might include a hike through the park, a dip in the pool and dropping by for a talk on the wildlife indigenous to the area.

Eco-tourism, or the concept of building tourist facilities with as little disturbance to the environment as possible, first started to become trendy in the 1970s. Stanley Selengut, the president of Maho Bay Camps Inc., was one of the early pioneers of this new wave in travel fashion with the 114-unit resort he built on a lush tropical hillside on St. John in the mid-1970s.

``The idea is about living with nature, but having probably 85 percent of the creature comforts you are used to,'' Freeman said.

Skei said the developer might end up building the first phase of the project - about 20 to 30 tentlike cabins - on areas where there are aging citrus trees and other non-native plantings as a way to minimize the impact on native shrubs.

The dining commons, Skei said, would be located in the existing, 4,000-square-foot ranch house.

``In every other national park, there are visitor amenities,'' Skei said. ``Here you could stay in a park but still be close to other amenities in Los Angeles.''

Skei said guests might pay anywhere between $70 to $100 a night to stay at a resort cabin, but that the entire park would still be accessible to the general public.

The land is near the Rockwell laboratory, where the U.S. Department of Energy found radioactive contamination, but extensive testing of the Sage Ranch has not found any health threats from the contamination.

There are some solvents from the lab that have been found in the ground in some park areas, Skei said, but she added that well water from those areas would not be used.

Both Freeman and Skei said plans for the proposed resort could be finished as early as next spring.

Dorian Keyser, a member of the Santa Susana Mountains Park Association, said he has not staked a position on the Sage Ranch eco-camp but said he is concerned the conservancy may be moving too fast.

``They need to give enough time for the community to become familiar with what they want to do,'' Keyser said. ``My main concern is that they are on a fast track. There are a lot of issues that need to be carefully explored.''

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Map: Sgage Ranch Park